On June 13, 2025, VNU Vice President Dao Thanh Truong held a working session with a delegation from the China Scholarship Council (CSC) to promote cooperation in the fields of testing, training, and the provision of international scholarships.
At the meeting, representatives of CSC shared their plan to replace the current HSK exam with a new Foundation Exam designed specifically for international students seeking to study at Chinese universities, particularly for long-term programs (at least one year).
Starting in 2027, the CSC plans to implement this exam for specialized fields such as Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, and others. The specific subjects will depend on the admission requirements of each academic discipline. The exam is expected to be held 5 to 6 times per year, with pilot testing beginning in December 2025.
Notably, the CSC is considering administering the exam outside of China and has identified the Institute of Digital Training and Testing (IDT), VNU, as one of its strategic partners in Vietnam for implementing the computer-based testing (CBT) format.
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The CSC representatives also shared information about full and partial scholarship programs available to Vietnamese students, graduate students, doctoral candidates, and education administrators who wish to study and conduct research at leading higher education institutions in China. The CSC expressed interest in establishing a cooperation mechanism with VNU to assess entrance qualifications, monitor academic progress, and jointly organize exit examinations for CSC scholarship recipients studying in Vietnam.
At the meeting, Dr. Nghiem Xuan Huy, Director of the Institute of Digital Training and Testing (IDT), shared key activities of the Institute. He stated that IDT serves as the core unit of VNU in providing international-standard digital training and testing services. Since the 2023-2024 academic year, the Institute has successfully organized end-of-course examinations for 64,365 students across VNU's training units, affirming its capacity to conduct large-scale, rigorous examinations.
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VNU Vice President Dao Thanh Truong emphasized that it is time to turn agreements into concrete actions. He affirmed VNU’s readiness to collaborate with CSC to put the cooperation program into practice, serving the interests of learners and advancing the internationalization of higher education in Vietnam.
VNU Vice President Dao Thanh Truong further stressed that expanding international cooperation, especially with strategic partners like CSC, is a key step aligned with VNU’s strategy for the internationalization of higher education, contributing to enhancing the university’s reputation, quality, and standing in the region and globally.
